There might be several different explanations for the increase in UFO sightings, according to Cliftan actual alien invasion is just one possibility.

Clift told Life's Little Mysteries that UFO sightings periodically increase from time to timewhen a big cluster of sightings happens in a short time, it's called a "UFO flap." One reason for this might be a psychological phenomenon called "priming."

When popular culture is focused on UFOs, sightings of them tend to rise alongside the increase in books, movies, and television shows about such objects, he said.

"It's likely that the media and [alien-themed] movies that are coming out, like Apollo 18 and Paul, are piquing people's interest in UFOs," Clift said.

Another possible reason for more sightings is that people are outdoors more in the summer, focusing more eyeballs on the night sky than during other times of the year and increasing sightings of the various objects that tend to get reported as UFOsairplanes, shooting stars, satellites, weather balloons, and who knows, maybe even alien spacecraft.

There also could be some duplication of sightings going on, according to MUFON. Clift said his organization was still examining the data on UFO sighting reports from recent weeks, with an eye towards determining if during the summer months there had been many reports of many different objects or many reports of the same object, which could be the case if a few objects happened to be spotted in more populated areas.

Damon Poeter got his start in journalism working for the English-language daily newspaper The Nation in Bangkok, Thailand. He covered everything from local news to sports and entertainment before settling on technology in the mid-2000s. Prior to joining PCMag, Damon worked at CRN and the Gilroy Dispatch. He has also written for the San Francisco Chronicle and Japan Times, among other newspapers and periodicals.
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